11:29 a.m., March 9, 2016–Four early-career researchers have won University of Delaware Research Foundation Strategic Initiative (UDRF-SI) grants to pursue studies in eye health, alternative energy, environmental health and cybersecurity.
The competitive grants, awarded annually by UDRF, are provided as seed money for projects that support the goals of the University’s strategic initiative “Delaware Will Shine” and show potential for success and the ability to draw additional grant support.
Lachke, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, for his study of cataracts and genetic associations.
Kalehiwot Nega Manahiloh, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, for a microscopic study on the saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil and biochar mixtures.
John Newberg, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, for his study of how catalytic surfaces change under operating conditions.
Chengmo Yang, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, for her work on securing cyber platforms against hardware trojans.
Salil Lachke
Lachke’s research focuses on eye disorders, including cataracts, which are a leading cause of blindness around the world and are at the center of this study.
Specifically, he is looking at the genes associated with maintaining transparency in the eye’s lens.
He developed an online gene discovery tool called iSyTE (integrated systems tool for eye gene discovery), which is hosted at UD’s Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.
He and his lab already have identified several genes that, when defective, appear to contribute to the formation of cataracts and this study will test that hypothesis and further define the role of two specific genes Mafg and Mafk while also mapping out a gene regulatory network for future analysis of the massive quantity of data collected.
The work is expected to further expand what is known about lens-related genetics and shed light on other genetic links to cataracts, in turn contributing to defining a genetic circuit for lens development and maintenance.
Lachke earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Pune, India, and his doctorate at the University of Iowa.
His research also has drawn support from the Fight for Sight Foundation, the Alcon Research Institute, the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, INBRE Delaware, and the National Eye Institute and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health.
Kalehiwot Manahiloh
Manahiloh’s research focuses on unsaturated soil mechanics, nondestructive investigation of geomaterials, and micromechanics.
Specifically, this study focuses on investigating the microscopic features found in mixtures of soil and biochar, a type of charcoal used as a soil amendment.
